Sit on Top Kayaking -  Safety & rescue for Beginners

Anyone about to buy or use a sit on top kayak needs to consider some basic safety matters before going afloat. It need not involve spending lots of cash but a bit of knowledge can enable you to make wise decisions and avoid mishaps.

The talk looks at basic safety, self and assisted rescue techniques to use if you fall in with.

 

Derek Hairon
Author of Sit-on-Top Kayak a Beginner's Manual. British Canoe Union Level 5 Sea Kayak Coach and Director of Jersey Kayak Adventures Ltd, one of the leading specialist sit-on-top kayak outfitters in the United Kingdom. Derek has kayaked for over forty years. He first learned to kayak around the incredible coastline of Jersey in the Channel Islands (which has some of the largest tides in the world) after his father built him a sit-on-top kayak. He has undertaken many kayak expeditions, most notably a circumnavigation of Ireland in fifty-eight days and expeditions to Alaska, Canada, as well as whitewater kayaking in Nepal. Closer to home he has paddled extensively in the Channel Islands including thirty-five mile open crossings. He has kayaked most of the best coastal spots in the UK. In his younger days he was a member of the Jersey surf kayak team and has been active in coaching sea kayaking in Jersey. Active in other sports too, he undertook a 12,000 mile cycle tour in 1984 and also is a keen skier and walker. In 2004 he set up Jersey Kayak Adventures to offer tours and courses to cater for the growth in this popular sport.